Bank and method of protecting money



Nov. 15, 1927.

C. G. BEERSMAN BANK AND METHOD OF PROTECTING MONEY Filed June 17, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 15, 1927. 1,648,891

C. G; BEERSMAN BANK AND METHOD OF PROTECTING MONEY Filed June 17, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 50 9,1912 19 50 on QE M QQ 42 02 50 Charl s G. Bwaman Patented Nov. 15, 1927.

-UNITED STATES CHARLES GERHABD BEERSMAN; OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

BANK AND METHOD OF PROTECTING MONEY.

Application filed June 17, 1922. Serial No. 569,187.

My invention relates to methods and apparatus for handling money, as m the cashiers department of large commercial houses, pay rooms of large corporations, offices of insurance companies, stock and bond houses, banks, and in general, in any establishment where money is taken in or paid out or both in any considerable quantity.

One primary object of the invention 1s to eliminate the usual cage separating the custodian or employee handling the money from the public or those with whom he deals.

Another object is to eliminate the-demoralizing effect of a cage separating such an employee from the public.

Another object is to eliminate the demoralizing effect of piles of money stacked in plain View but out of reach.

Another object is to save the expense and disfigurement incident to the use of the usual cage for such employee.

Another object is to provide adequate protection for the money kept in such an establishment without the use of a cage.

Another object is to improve communication between the employee handling money and dealing with the public, and other employees of the same establishment.

Another object is to substitute instantaneous accounting devices for the usual exposed piles of money.

Another object is to devise an improved system of record keeping. Another object is to provide very simple means permitting continued and quick transactions across an open counter; at the same time permitting the employee to step away I from the counter without exposing any of the money he is handling to any risk of pilfering.

Another object is to save vertical space in a building of this character by eliminating the usual conduits embedded in the floor.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a portion of an enclosure according to my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of part of a series of such enclosures;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 2, somewhat enlarged;

Fig. 4 is a view on a smaller scale of an enclosure of larger size;

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan View and Fig. 6 a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5 of a preferred form of bill-box; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged front view of one of'the supply cabinets.

In the embodiment of apparatus according to my invention selected for illustration in Figures 1, 2 and 3, counter 10, preferably of marble, separates the employee handling money from the public, and provides an open, and unobstructed flat surface for carrying on transactions. The front of the counter is completed by slabs 12, 14 and 16, preferably all of marble to form an attractive and finished exterior. Slab 14 forms a convenient support for the elbow of a person in front-of the counter, and, in case business is being transacted in crowded quarters, it may be provided in portions of its length not immediately in front of one of the employ'ees, with deposit slips, etc., for use of the patrons of the establishment. Ordinarily, of course such deposit slips are preferably placed on tables remote from the counter herein illustrated.

The dimensions of the parts just described are preferably such that a man of full ordinary stature cannot quite reach from in front of the counter to the inner edge-of slab 10. Under slab 10 in front of each employee, I position a housing 18 containing a money box 20 suitably supported for sliding movement in the housing as by means of rollers 22. Housing 18 opens rearwardly under the slab 10 directly in front of the employee. From the position shown in Fig. 3,- box 20 may be slid to a position with its rearwardly open face substantially flush with the rear end of the housing 18. A door 26 is (pivoted on the upper wall of housing 18 an is adapted to fall by gravity into the position illustrated in Figure 3 whenever box 20 is slid to the bottom of casing 18. Box 20 is sub-divided into a plurality of compartments 28 in which bills of different denominations may be arranged in piles, and one compartment 28 preferably contains a revolver or suitable firearms for the use of the employee in case of emergency. At one end box 20 preferably carries a small casing 17 within which is housed a shutter 19 of construction similar to the top of a roll-top desk; which may be quickly moved to cover the open side of the box and prevent access to the money therein.

Various degrees of precaution, depending upon circumstances, may be exercised'by the employee in protecting the money in box 20. A single simple movement of one hand will carry shutter 19 across the front of the box, and the-reverse will permit the employee to resume transactions almost without a pause. When this is done a person outside the counter will have to throw his entire body across the counter and manipulate his arms in very crowded quarters in an attempt to remove shutter 19. v

Box 20 may be pushed to the bottom of casing 18 by a light push with one hand, permitting door 26 to fall. This entraps the box and its contents. The box can be moved back by a simple pull on handle 25 under panel 40 and conveniently accessible to the operator, but any person outside the counter would have to get entirely inside the enclosure, or else hang head downward over the counter to reach handle 25. The bottom of box 20 is grooved at 21 to guide shutter 19, and continues in a ledge 27 close enough to the edge of door 26 to make it impossible to raise the door except by pulling on handle 25.

Ledge 27 slides under the front edge of shelf 40 so that when the box is open and in use its bottom and shelf 40 form a flat continuous surface. Suitable means are provided for holding the box against accidental displacement in either of its two positions. I have illustrated shallow grooves 29 in the bottom of casing 18 just deep enough to gently resist initial displacement of the box from either position. a

It is also possible to move shutter 19 across the open side of the box and by giving a slight push to slide the box into the position shown in Figure 3. lVhen this is done the employee upon his return can grasp handle .25 with his left hand and as he pulls the box toward him grasp shutter 19 with his right hand to open the box. Alternatively he could take a little more time and use one hand only, first pulling the box toward him and then withdrawing cover 19. i It will be apparent that two different ways are provided for closing and opening the box with one hand only, using either shutter 19 or door 26 but not both and a third way using both door and shutter requiring only one hand for the closing movement but either both hands or two successive operations with a pause between them for subsequent opening.

In any of the protected positions, the revolver lying close at hand for the use of the operator when he stands at the counter, is pocketed with the money and inaccessible. An additional firearm is preferably kept at the rear of the enclosure either in supply drawer 32 or on the wide shelf 34 near the rear. gate 36, so that the employee would not need to get back to the counter to protect himself in case anyone should attempt to jump over the counter while he is not standing, by it.

Gate 36 provides for access to the enclosure 8 by the employees of the establishment, the adjacent enclosure being separated by a narrow ledge 38 of the same height as counter 10, on either side of which are wide shelves 34. A shelf 40 on the same level as shelf 14 extends along the inside of counter 10. According to my invention each employee is provided, first, with a bill box 20, second, with a mechanical change-making device 42 suitably filled with coins of small denomination; and third, with a comptometer or other suitable universal adding and subtracting machine 44. At the beginning of the days business, the cash in the bill box and change-maker is counted, and the total amount set up on the machine 44. Thereafter, each time money is taken in or paid out, the employee operates the machine 44 at the time to add or subtract the amount taken in or paid out. stantaneous cash record is kept, available at any time throughout the day, and at the end of the day no accounting is necessary to enable the employee to turn in his cash report. He need only count the cash he has and check it with the machine.

I have provided a simple and economical system for utilizing the remaining space in and around each enclosure 8. At the front corner of the space, shelf 40 carries a glass panel 46, under which may be placed the current stop-payment list, where it will be conveniently read at a glance by the employee as he carries on transactions across counter 10. At the rear, on either side of gate 36, I prefer to provide a file cabinet 48 in which detail reports of the accounts of the depositors or patrons assigned to do business at that particular position, may be kept, together with other suitable records. At either In this way an in-' side of the enclosure there is space under shelf 50 for four cabinets or other supply containers. According to my invention, three of these containers, such as 52 in Figure 2, may be utilized for general purposes, and the remaining space is occupied by a money truck 54 containing a supply of money larger than can be conveniently kept in boxes 20. This money truck is built double and'carried on suitable wheels 55 (see Fig. 3) so that it can be taken away thru gate 36 to be replenished or replaced. In this way each money truck serves two adjacent enclosures, and only one-quarter. of the space available under shelves 50 is occupied by money trucks, the remainder being available for other purposes.

In addition to an instantaneous cash register for each individual employee, I have devised a method and means for keeping an almost instantaneous record of the account of each depositor. This is important in preventing over-drafts by cashing two successive negotiable instruments within a relatively short interval on the same business day.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, each enclosure 8 accommodates two employees, and between them at the front of the enclosure is a supply cabinet 56 separating the position in which they stand, a rail 58 being preferably provided near the floor to co-operate with shelf in assisting the employee to stand at his work with as little physical discomfort as possible. At the front of the cabinet I provide an individual pneumatic transmission tube 60 for each em ployee, and between the tubes is located a local telephone 62 for quick communication with any other part ofthe establishment. The telephone may be mounted on the front of a narrow drawer 59 in which a supply of the containers for the. pneumatic tubes is kept. A plurality of push buttons 61 for signalling watchman, messenger boys and miscellaneous communication are mounted by each pneumatic tube terminal, and a shelf 65 is provided for convenience in using the communication means. Cabinet 56 preferably contains a relatively small supply of such stationary and blanks as'are most frequently used by the employees, the upper full width drawer 64 or more, if desired, being advantageously employed to contain bills of larger denomination than it is convenient to keep in the boxes 20. A still .smaller supply of articles still more frequently used may be kept at 66 and 68 where the'employee can reach them without moving his body. This supply preferably comprises pens and an inkwell and a supply of check books in case the establishment is an ordinary banking institution. The space at 70 in Figures 1 and 3 indicates the rear end of a similar compartment for the use of the employee in the next enclosure. The re- 'maining space under ledge 38 and above shelves 50 and 34 is preferably provided with individual supply boxes 7 2, one serving the enclosure on one side of the partition and the other accessible from the other side to serve the adjoining enclosure.

According to my invention, the record of each transaction by each employee, which will comprise either a negotiable instrument, or a deposit slip accompanied by one or more negotiable instruments, is immediately transmitted thru tube 60 to a record-keeping question. This record-keeping operator immediately enters the transaction on a permanent record, and at the same time, by means of duplicatin paper orin any other suitable manner ma es a smaller transfer record of the individual transaction, and of the balance left at the end of such transaction. frequent intervals and distributed to the employees, either by leaving them on shelf 34 for filing in cabinet 48 by the employee, himself, or by filing them in cabinet 48 by the person delivering them. In this way, with reasonable efiiciency, the records in file cabinet 48, which are kept primarily for the use of the employees to prevent over-draft, may be kept up-to-date within five minutes or less with a corresponding diminution in the likelihood of over-draft, and in the memory work required of the employees to keep track of accounts and prevent over-drafts.

The space under counter 10 and shelves 14 and 40, provides open spaces at 74 for the comfort of the employee, especially if he performs part of his work seated; and

other spaces 7 6 defined by-the panel 16 and a removable central partition 78, within which the electric wires, pneumatic tubes etc. required by the system of communication. may conveniently be mounted. Columns are provided to support the floors of the building, and certain of these columns may be made hollow to provide for running the electric wires and pneumatic tubes, etc., from one floor to another throughout the entire building. It has heretofore been customary to embed such communication tubes and wires in the floor itself, rendering them thereby relatively inaccessible, and increasing the depth of fioor necessary. Alternatively it has sometimes been thepractice to run these conduits through the floor and along the ceiling of the rooms located below. This avoids an unnecessary depth of-fioor, but disfigures the ceiling. According to my invention these conduits are concealed in parts usually made hollow, run-' .ning in spaces ordinarily provided but use These transfer records are collected at enclosure designed to accommodate four employees. In this embodiment each employee is provided with a comptometer 44 at. his left hand and a change-making machine 42 at his right hand. This makes all the positruck.

tions interchangeable, in the sense that each employee can become accustomed to having a particular arrangement of the units operated and change positions Without encountering a different arran ement. In this arrangement I preferab y provide a money truck 54 in each partition between enclosures, so that half the space under shelving is occupied by money trucks, and not more than two employees need ever use the same The equipment inside the enclosure should be attractively finished, but need not necessaril be of marble, or ofmaterial asattractive as that for'ming counter 10. Various metal finishes of satisfactory character are available, and for cheaper constructions wood may' be used, either bare or covered with linoleum.

The depressing moral atmosphere created by the use of cages in a banking institution, is believed to be the chief result obtained by the use of such equipment.

As at present used they provide very little real protection for the money kept in them, as it is frequently piled in large amounts where it can be reached from outside thru the window. Furthermore, a determined man, has little difliculty in forcing an employee inside such a cage to hand out money at the point of a pistol. The real protection relied upon in any banking institution at present is chiefly the watchman at and near the door of the bank and the mechanism for quickly closing the main door of the bank, regardless of the use of the cages. The assumption of honesty, rather than dishonesty, involved in the use of equipment.

according to my invention instead of cages, not only creates a much better spirit between the employees of the bank and those with whom they deal, but goes a long way toward securing the honesty assumed. At the same time, the temptation involved in having to look at large piles of money stacked in plain view is avoided, and the actual physical protection to the money is substantially as great as when cages are used.

l/Vithout further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully explain the gist of the invention, that others may, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service, without eliminating certain features which may properly be said to constitute the essential items of novelty involved, which items are intended to be defined and secured to me by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a casing, a shelf adjacent said casing, a container mounted for movement into and out of the casing, a closure for said casing moved into and out of operative positionby movement of the container into and out of the casing, and an operating handle member extending from the container beneath the shelf, the outer edge of the shelf being disposed to contact with the forward end of the bottom wall of the container to limit outward movement thereof, the upper surface of the bottom wall of the container being flush with the top of the shelf and forming therewith a continuous. surface when the container is in its outermost position.

2. In combination, a casing, a shelf ad'a cent the casing, a container mounted or movement into and out of the casing, and an operating handle member extending from the container beneath the shelf, the outer edge of the shelf being disposed to contact with the forward end of the container to limit outward movement thereof, the upper surface of the bottom wall of the container being flush with the top of the shelf and forming therewith a continuous surface when the container is in its outermost position.

3. In combination, a casing, a shelf adjacent the casing, a container mounted for movement into and out of the casing and provided with a guideway at its upper edge, an operating handle member extending from. the container beneath the shelf for moving said container into and out of the casing, the bottom of the container being in the plane of the shelf and the handle member having a raised portion adjacent the container and defining with the bottom wall thereof a guide-way, and a closure member for the container operating in said guide-ways.

4. In combination, a casing, a shelf adjacent the casing, a container mounted for movement into and out of the casing and provided with a guide-wa at its upper edge, an operating handle mem er extending from the container beneath the shelf for moving said container into and out of the casing, the bottom of the container being in the plane of the shelf and the handle member having a raised portion adjacent the container and defining with the bottom wall thereof a guide-way, and a closure member for the container operating in said guide-ways, the shelf having its edge recessedto "receive said raised portion and the upper face of the bottom of the container and the top of the shelf forming a continuous surface when the container is in its outermost position.

5. In combination, a casing, a shelf adjacent the casing, a container mounted for movement into and out of the casing and provided with a guide-way in its upper edge, an operating handle member extending from the container beneath the shelf for moving said container into and out of the casing, the bottom of the container being in the plane of the shelf and the handle member having a raised portion defining with the bottom wall of the container, a guide-way, a closure member for the container operating in said adjacent the container with its lower end guide-ways, and a closure member for the closely adjacent the raised portion of the casing mounted therein at its upper end for handle member when the container is moved 10 swinging movement and moved into and out into its inner position Within the casing. of operative position by movement of the In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe. container into and out of the casing, the casmy name this 15th IdIaZ of June, 1922.

ing closure being disposed vertically and CHARLES GER RD BEERSMAN. 

